Saturday, 26 November 2016

In my humble opinion the following is worth
repeating, an excerpt from our script, “Krishna Is” and it is a poeticized
segment of the exchange between warrior, Arjuna, and wise Bhagavan (God). Author Bhaktimarga Swami.

ARJUNA:Seeing those before me causes me
to shiver.

To lift my bow is
as though I had never.

Hairs stand on
end, mind is reeling.

I’m confused,
it’s new, this kind of feeling.

Sri Krishna, I
just cannot fight.

There’s something
here that is not right.

KRISHNA:Arjuna, you’ve lost your sense of duty.

A man of defense renounced
a warrior’s beauty.

For the wise there’s a
different point of view

Of eternity—no birth, no
death—known by few.

Consider the world, which
is full of duality.

Good and bad is its only
reality.

The major point is to not
lament.

The soul is forever, that
is my comment.

Moving through bodies from
young to old.

From old to young, the
circle does unfold.

ARJUNA:Krishna, what is the force that
compels one to do wrong.

If you could please
include this in your song.

KRISHNA:It is desire, born of passion—then wrath

That keeps us covered and
obscures the path.

Perform your yoga, and your
sacrifice

For the creator and then
all will be nice.

ARJUNA:Krishna, yoga can be tried for
controlling the mind.

But the mind is an
instrument of a different kind.

I’m fine if asked to
harness the wind.

But the mind cannot be
anchored or pinned.

KRISHNA: Begin the process; take it easy
and slow.

In the end, there’s
freedom; the soul will then glow.

ARJUNA:You are my teacher, mentor and
guide.

It was no mistake to have you on my side.

I have come to consider about you there is
more.It’s your cosmic form I wish to explore.

Wednesday, 23 November 2016

It is always on a tearful note that I leave
the community of devotees in Buenos Aires.It is the whole continent, South America, which seems to run on
emotional fuel.I’m caught up in it
myself.

Our group that took the three and a half
days to assemble a narrative dance/drama was exhausted over the hard work.Results paid off.I delivered two Bhagavatam classes while here,
and Gaura Vani Swami, and Maha Vishnu Swami, respectively from Germany and the
U.K., are monks I had a good time with.To those whom I gave diksha
initiation in the past years, I offer my deepest regards for sticking to dharma (principles).To Maha-hari, an Argentinian native, who runs
the operations at ISKCON, and Merudevi, who had done so much to pull the
festival together, my dandavats
(prostrations) go to them.

Actually, Balarama and I had been on such
an intense program, that outside of my chanting quota, the practices, some
eating and a few hours of sleep, we hadn’t visited the successful Govinda’s
Restaurant, which is housed in the same complex we had been residing in.For a send-off, we were treated to a lunch
meal.It’s a good buffet.Spices are minimal.We ate like kings before our final good-byes.

As in the days of our guru, Srila
Prabhupada, a subtle kirtan put a
closure to our devotional endeavours for this year.

As the name implies this city has some
“good air.”Being near the ocean, a port
city, some prana (life force) makes
its way through the place.I’m enjoying
it, seated on a bench, and anticipating a high spirit festival, the annual
Chariot Fest.

While fingering through on my japa (meditation) beads, I find
everything rather conducive to living a ‘real’ life.Even the local temple cat, who seems to carry
on as if the courtyard is his domain, is frisking about, chasing and grabbing a
fallen twig of leaves.The air’s
movement agitates the leaves and their shiver has captivated him.He’s oblivious to my sitting there and
chanting.

He’s also unaware of today’s celebration of
what you’ll find in most major cities, the Ratha
Yatra, a chariot festival. A re-enactment of a joy ride taken up by Sri
Krishna and siblings, long ago.The
celebration includes a march of chanters down a major street and then food,
displays, kid’s fun and stage events to follow.

I was involved in the stage
presentation.Balarama, who travelled
with me from Canada, played the lead role in “Krishna Is…”He did very well by incorporating his
ballet-trained skill into the production.I moved around the grounds, where the audience was sitting during the
performance, with some concern.Will the
people be able to focus on some grave-to-emotional, almost stoic-in-action
scenes like Krishna just talking to an old school mate during a reunion?Fortunately, the crowd of hundreds was
focused.That same attention came during
the Gita scene.I was amazed at their amazement.

In the Spanish world they have a
saying:Si te gusta el durazno bancate la pelusa.“If you like peaches, you must deal with
the fluff.”

A conversation I had with two young people,
who shared this with me, addressed the austerity that one is obliged to do this
if you really want to enjoy life.They
also pointed out a song from the 80’s “Every rose has its thorn” by the
unplugged group “Poison.”

Duality is what we must live with in this
world, whether we like it or not.Sweet
and sour play together in the real world.Enough of this subject is contained in the Bhagavad-gita.

Since I arrived here in Buenos Aires, it’s
been time spent in hard work, which is motivated by wanting a good result (as
best as possible).Our production of
“Krishna Is…” comes with co-operation, timeliness and listening.

Unfortunately, my Spanish stinks.I’m picking up on some words.I’ll say, “Hermoso” which means “beautiful” when I think the actors really put
forth their best at a practice.I’m
committed to encouragement to augment the performance.The good Lord knows I raise my voice at times
in order that our troupe keeps focused on the project.Directors are permitted to do such
things.A touch of discipline can’t
spoil the purchase.It enhances.

My experience thus far in dealing with the
young to mid-age in the drama has been good, except for the mañana spirit that
sometimes kicks in.Delay, or being late
in showing up is a kind of procrastination.Being “on time” is a welcome austerity.

TRANSLATE

ABOUT ME

I am a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and I became a monk of the Hare Krishna order in 1973. My teacher gave me the spiritual name, Bhaktimarga Swami, which means "the path of devotion". Of course, this fits right in with my avid promotion of walking adventures as a way to connect with the Divine and lead a more care-free / car-free lifestyle. It is a great joy to share these adventures in both Canada and abroad with you via my daily blog.
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ARTICLE: BHAKTIMARGA SWAMI: A LIFE DRAMATIC

CLICK ON PHOTO TO READ FULL ARTICLE FEATURED ON ISKCON NEWS: To ISKCON devotees everywhere, the name Bhaktimarga Swami conjures up images of powerful, out-of-the-box stage productions; and of energetic kirtans, full of stomping dance moves and jubilant smiles...